• by Wayne Friedman , February 7, 2025

Total NFL sponsorships across all teams is up 6% this season versus a year ago to $2.5 billion, according to SponsorUnited, a sports sponsorship research company.

Major gains in deals came from ticketing, alcoholic beverages, telecommunications. Total number of actual deals for all the NFL teams grew to over 3,600.

The biggest team in terms of sponsorship revenue continue to be the Dallas Cowboys, with well over $100 million in annual revenue, and the Los Angeles Rams, Las Vegas Raiders, New England Patriots, and Atlanta Falcons are the next-highest, according to one report.

Top players -- in terms of the number of sponsorship deals -- were Washington Commanders rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels and Dallas Cowboys veteran defensive end Demarcus Lawrence -- who each had 18 deals.

According to the research, eight of the top ten top brands came from broader NFL “league partners” contributing to local team sponsorship rise. Additionally 68 brands extended activities globally -- part the league’s international efforts for growth.

In terms of number of deals, the Carolina Panthers posted the most this past year, around 200. Second best was the Dallas Cowboys with over around 175. Indianapolis Colts were third with around 150.

Most active brands: Bud Light, Ford Motor, Ticketmaster, Miller Lite, Verizon, Pepsi, Toyota, Coca-Cola, Bank of America, and AT&T.

One of the new rising major sponsorship activations comes from the arrival of team players where brands can get background signage -- 13 teams now offer such messaging access. Those local teams sold 41% of those available opportunities.

Most common assets bought by new brands -- 360 degree rotating digital “ribbon” board around stadiums for messaging, and a ‘stadium TV L-Wrap’, a digital signage overlay that displays ads or logos on live TV in a stadium.

Overall there are some 3,600 sponsorship deals -- more than 2,100 brands. The survey data taken from 33,500 social media posts between August to January 2025.